Conceive and achieve

List your company’s (or department’s) top 3 objectives over the next 90 days. Doing this helps to ensure your individual goals are aligned with the key company (or department) objectives. “Company goals” are some of the main priorities that your organization needs to accomplish to achieve success. If you don’t know these, ask around!

Now, think about 5 key things that you want to accomplish as a leader over the next 90 days. Ideally, these objectives will help your company to achieve some of the broader goals listed in the previous step and also help you grow as a leader.

Performance goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, and time-framed. A description of each element of S.M.A.R.T. is below.

• Specific: Describes what exactly needs to be done.
• Measurable: Defined quantities are specified.
• Attainable: Standards have been met before or can be.
• Results-oriented: Stated in terms of output.
• Time-framed: There is a definite completion time.

A well-constructed, S.M.A.R.T.-based performance standard must contain a clearly defined action so that those who are expected to perform the work know exactly what is to be done.

Action verbs that describe an observable, measurable objective are used to write clear objectives. The following is a list of some acceptable action verbs typically used in writing S.M.A.R.T.-based performance standards: Account, Acquire, Adjust, Administer, Analyze, Arrange, Assemble, Audit, Build, Calculate, Check, Collect, Compile, Conduct, Create, Design, Determine, Develop, Distribute, Establish, Evaluate, Forecast, Formulate, Generate, Identify, Implement, Improve, Increase, Issue, List, Name, Notify, Obtain, Prepare, Produce, Reduce, Research, Review, Sell, Specify, Submit, Survey, Train, Update, Write

Verbs such as to know, to understand, to appreciate and to enjoy are easily misinterpreted. We refer to these as “fuzzy” verbs. These are not acceptable verbs for objectives because they are unclear and cannot be measured or observed. Verbs such as to write, to improve, to produce or to develop provide little chance of misinterpretation.

Look back at the 5 goals you wrote in Step 2. From this list, select the top 3 goals to accomplish over the next 90 days. Rewrite the 3 goals below, making sure that each goal meets the S.M.A.R.T. criteria.

You now have laser focus on the top S.M.A.R.T. priorities to focus on over the next 90 days. Get out there and get it done!